Week 7 Rankings: Top 25 Quarterbacks

Kevin Kolb impressed, but will he remain the Eagles starting quarterback for Week 7? How did Ben Roethlisberger’s return shake up the rankings? Let’s try to answer these questions and all the rest for the upcoming week (remember, these rankings will be updated later in the week as needed):

Drew Brees – New Orleans Saints – vs. Cleveland

Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers – vs. Minnesota

Philip Rivers – San Diego Chargers – vs. New England

Tom Brady – New England Patriots – at San Diego

Ben Roethlisberger – Pittsburgh Steelers – at Miami

Eli Manning – New York Giants – at Dallas

Tony Romo – Dallas Cowboys – vs. New York Giants

Kevin Kolb – Philadelphia Eagles – at Tennessee

Kyle Orton – Denver Broncos – vs. Oakland

Matt Ryan – Atlanta Falcons – vs. Cincinnati

Joe Flacco – Baltimore Ravens – vs. Buffalo

Matt Cassel – Kansas City Chiefs – vs. Jacksonville

Jay Cutler – Chicago Bears – vs. Washington

Carson Palmer – Cincinnati Bengals – at Atlanta

Brett Favre – Minnesota Vikings – at Green Bay

Matt Hasselbeck – Seattle Seahawks – vs. Arizona

Donovan McNabb – Washington Redskins – at Chicago

David Garrard – Jacksonville Jaguars – at Kansas City

Sam Bradford – St. Louis Rams – at Tampa Bay

Josh Freeman – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – vs. St. Louis

Chad Henne – Miami Dolphins – vs. Pittsburgh

Vince Young – Tennessee Titans – vs. Philadelphia

Ryan Fitzpatrick – Buffalo Bills – at Baltimore

Alex Smith – San Francisco 49ers – at Carolina

Max Hall – Arizona Cardinals – at Seattle

Thoughts:

Aaron Rodgers showed no ill effects from his Week 5 concussion, throwing for 313 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception against the Dolphins in Week 6. Of course, those numbers were buoyed by a big play to Greg Jennings. He gets another tough defense in Week 7, this time the Minnesota Vikings (allowed 185.0 passing yards per game in their first four games). He’s a QB1, but the matchup has to bring at least a little concern.

While Kevin Kolb was incredibly impressive in Week 6 (23-29 for 326 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT), reports are that Andy Reid has said that Michael Vick will be the starter moving forward. At this point it is too early to tell who will get the nod for Week 7, so we are leaving Kolb on the list for now. Depending on the news later this week, we will adjust things.

With both Antonio Gates and Malcolm Floyd leaving the Chargers Week 6 matchup with injuries, you have to wonder what type of production they team will get from their receivers. That could hurt Philip Rivers production potential, so depending on if they are able to play in Week 7, we will adjust our rankings. With the matchup against the Patriots (11 passing TD allowed through five games), if they play he’s a top option.

Jay Cutler continues to get beaten up, getting sacked another six times in Week 6, his first game back after suffering a concussion at the hands of the Giants in Week 4. He still managed to make some plays, getting 290 yards while going just 17-39. You can’t say the numbers were impressive, but I would expect them to improve against the Redskins. That’s no guarantee, however, so I’d consider him a QB2.

Matt Cassel came to life in Week 6, going 20-29 for 201 yards and 3 TD. Of most importance was getting Dwayne Bowe (6 catches for 108 yards and 2 TD) back into the mix. With Jacksonville, another poor team in defending the pass having allowed 12 TD passes and 282.2 passing yards per game in their first five games, on the schedule in Week 7 Cassel has become a viable QB1.

With all the talk of Brett Favre not being 100% healthy and his limited use against the Cowboys in Week 6 (14-19, 118 yards, 1 TD), it’s hard to depend on him as a QB1 right now. The news could change that, of course, but for now consider him an upper-level QB2.

The Seahawks get an Arizona defense that was allowing over 240 passing yards per game. Could they have made the necessary adjustments coming out of their bye week? Who knows, but Matt Hasselbeck is coming off a good Week 6 performance against the Bears (25-40, 242 yards, 1 TD) and looks to be a good QB2 play this week.

The Dolphins ability to run the ball against the Steelers defense is going to be an interesting dynamic in their battle this coming week. The problem is, if they can’t run the ball it is going to be that much tougher for Chad Henne to get anything going. Still, Henne has generated a good rapport with Brandon Marshall and Davone Bess, so the potential is there (especially after Colt McCoy put up some numbers against them in Week 6).

What are your thoughts on these rankings? Who’s too high? Who’s too low?

13 comments

Do you really have Big Ben ranked ahead of Tom Brady? I mean I realize that they are 4/5, and they both deserve to be Top 5 this week, so I know that this is splitting hairs, but c’mon….

Are you going to cite the fact that Tom Brady’s opponent – San Diego – is #1 in Passing Defense? Well look at who they have played (KC, Jax, Seattle, Arizona, Oakland, St Louis) – do any of those teams have a good passing offense?

Tom Brady, now that he is rid of Randy Moss, is going to get back to his old ways of making quick decisions and finding the open receiver. This San Diego defense, which is 2nd in the league with 21 sacks, is not going to be able to pressure Brady because there won’t be enough time to do so.

I’m considering starting Matt Cassel over Eli Manning this week, simply due to the more favorable match up. Jaguar’s secondary is a joke. Is it too early to trust Cassel yet? Should I stick with the more consistnet player/offense at this point? Several of the different links from this site I have looked are expecting a good week for Cassel, some even have him ranked higher than Eli.